Tim Curry was the star of an iconic two-part miniseries that launched an entire horror franchise that is still active today. With a career that spanned over five decades, Tim Curry left an indelible mark on theater, film, and TV across different genres, thanks to his incredible acting range and natural charm. Some of Curry’s films can be found among the best movies of all time, while some of the TV projects he was a part of made TV history.
Curry’s TV career began in 1968 with the movie Sinking Fish Move Sideways, and after roles in shows like Ace of Wands, The Tracey Ullman Show, and hosting Saturday Night Live, Curry surprised the world in 1990 with a starring role in the two-part miniseries It. An adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name, It brought the Losers Club to life along with Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the latter brilliantly played by Curry.
Pennywise became one of Curry’s best-known and most recognizable roles, becoming the stuff of nightmares for many children and adults, and perfectly portraying all those traits that make King’s clown so terrifying. The 1990 It miniseries was a critical success, and though it does have its flaws, it’s, overall, one of the best horror TV shows of all time – and that's in large part thanks to Curry’s performance, thanks to which the It franchise was launched.
Tim Curry’s Pennywise Set The Tone For The It Franchise
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, It adapted the events of King’s novel into a two-part miniseries, jumping back and forth between the then-present day of 1990 and 1960, when Pennywise killed a young Georgie Denbrough. It follows the efforts of Georgie’s older brother, Bill, and his friends Richie, Eddie, Ben, Stan, Bev, and Mike to defeat the shape-shifting creature they refer to as It, while being terrorized by its different forms, mostly that of Pennywise.
Three decades later, It reawakens and returns for a new murder spree, forcing the now-adult Losers to reunite in Derry to destroy the creature for real. The It miniseries adapts the most memorable scenes from the novel, though it also had to change many others to fit the TV format. Still, the miniseries is now a cult classic and one of the best Stephen King TV adaptations, and its success is in large part thanks to Curry’s performance as Pennywise.
Curry knew exactly how to portray a complex figure like Pennywise, as he was not only an evil creature in the shape of a clown, but he also had to have a combination of charm (to lure its victims in) and evil to instill fear in both the show’s characters and the audience. Curry’s facial gestures, voice, and moves made his version of Pennywise one of the most terrifying clowns in pop culture, and his performance was the blueprint for the rest of the It franchise.
Curry’s Pennywise made the miniseries the success and classic it is now, and that led to a documentary, a short film, a movie adaptation of the novel thanks to Andy Muschietti and starring Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, and the TV series It: Welcome to Derry. Curry’s Pennywise showed how the character should look, move, act, and sound, being key to Skarsgård’s version and the development of the rest of the franchise.
How It: Welcome To Derry Season 2 Can Honor Tim Curry’s Pennywise Legacy
Tim Curry’s horror legacy is undeniable, and with It: Welcome to Derry officially happening, it would be surprising if the show didn’t honor Curry. Muschietti’s It had a Curry Easter egg in the scene at the house on Neibolt Street where a young Richie Tozier finds himself trapped in a room full of clown figures. One of them is dressed like Curry’s Pennywise, and it was a special treat for fans of the franchise.
Season 2 of It: Welcome to Derry could do something similar with a figure, photograph, or any type of image of a clown dressed like Curry’s version of Pennywise, or it could go so far as to have Skarsgård’s Pennywise take on a form reminiscent of Curry’s. It: Welcome to Derry wouldn’t even exist without Tim Curry’s Pennywise and the 1990 It miniseries, and the franchise has a lot to thank him for.
